Improving State Trial Courts in Today’s World
Caseflow | Operations
Reducing trial court delay and improving productivity within state and local justice systems are bedrock principles of NAPCO. Member courts share caseflow techniques, exchange program ideas, and assist each other in implementing improvements. As examples, Pittsburgh reorganized its criminal case processing after visiting Phoenix; and Phoenix has adopted procedural justice approaches developed in Minneapolis.
Governance | Leadership
NAPCO has been a pioneer, along with the National Center for State Courts, in new and better approaches to managing trial courts. Through updated curriculum on leadership and governance, presiding/chief judges, court executives, and National Center experts have taught workshops and developed resources. One of the resulting work products is a monograph listing the responsibilities and duties for top trial court administrative judges and court executives. Finalized in 2021 through the help of a State Justice Institute (SJI) grant, it is entitled Presiding Judge and Court Executive Officer Trial Court Governance and Leadership Principles, Roles and Responsibilities. It can be accessed here.
High-Tech | e-Courts
As process oriented organizations, trial courts are being reshaped and reengineered by new, powerful digitized data, voice and image technology. How to harness these high-tech electronic approaches to deliver greater value and reduce costs is a significant challenge faced by court leaders. Trial courts are the experimental leaders in doing so. NAPCO is committed to facilitating and advancing e-court solutions in its educational programming and assistance to member courts.